Wo Ai Ni
by Angel of Despair
Summary: Kimberly is engaged to Wes, but will the return of a few old flames change things? After all what will the two do when faced with their soulmates. Not to mention how they will deal with once again needing to save the world.
1. Chapter 1

"Kim's getting married," Jason just blurted out to Tommy. The whole day had been planned around Jason at some point telling Tommy this news. Jason figured that if Tommy and him hung out then just the two of them, he would get the guts to tell him. The thing is that Jason did not want to be the one who told Tommy. Hell, if he had it his way, he would have just allowed Tommy to live in ignorant bliss of this news, but he had agreed with the others that not telling Tommy would be wrong.

Initially, Jason agreed that they should tell Tommy because he figured they might do it in a group setting. This idea, however, was shot down by several of the others because they feared that Tommy would be better able to handle it if he was told on a one to one basis. So they called Haley. Haley was Tommy's closest friend and if anybody knew how he'd react, it was her.

When they broached the topic with her, however, she declined. In fact, she told them that it was already bad enough that she would have to pick up the pieces when Tommy did find out and under no uncertain terms would she be the one to break this bitter news to him as well. She did however agree with the idea that only one person should be with Tommy when the news was broken. So since nobody could agree on who should tell Tommy the news. (Well, actually they could. Everyone was under the consensus that Kimberly should be the one to break it, but they knew that would never happen because the only way Kimberly and Tommy talked to each other was if they were forced.) As a result, they did the only logical thing left to do in this situation. They drew straws and Jason lost.

"I'll take it that guy from Florida finally popped the question," Tommy sighed. He knew this day would eventually come. Hell, he thought it already had and the others just never told him. As far as Tommy was concerned the day Kimberly Ann Hart broke his heart was the same day she got married with three kids and was living happily ever after in the suburbs. He could never find it in him to picture it any other way. Sure there were times when he knew that she wasn't married. After all, he constantly scanned the news for her name and cutting out any articles with her name. Even if the only point in which she was mentioned in the article was to say such and such gymnast was like a younger Kimberly Hart. Amongst these articles, of course, were some interviews. Most of which said she was single when asked if she was involved with anybody. Tommy never believed that, however. After all, Kimberly could easily claim to be single as not to deter her male fans. Many of which eagerly hoped to win the beautiful girl's heart. As of late, however, the duty of scanning the paper for Kimberly's name had fallen to Haley.

Haley had seen the way scanning the paper distressed Tommy. Tommy always had difficulty reading the paper while he was a Power Ranger. During the years that he was retired, it wasn't so bad. He knew that there were other ranger teams who were responsible for stopping the monsters, so if a civilian was hurt, it wasn't as much his fault. The problem was is that Tommy didn't stay in retirement. When Mesogog attacked, Tommy went back on active duty as the Black Dino Ranger. When that happened, Tommy could barely take reading the paper. Every time he saw a name saying this or that person had been injured during a monster attack, he felt responsible. Like he should have done more to stop it. Most of this guilt came from his days as an evil Green Ranger when he was the one who caused a good deal of suffering. Tommy did know better. He knew that it wasn't really his fault and that he was doing the best he could to stop Mesogog, but whenever he read the paper he couldn't help but feel as though he should have done more. Yet, he had to keep reading the paper as it was his only source for Kimberly related news. Not that there was ever much news. After all, her name had severely dwindled in the headlines after she won the gold, but he could never be certain. It wasn't as if he could count on his friends to give him word about Kimberly. Once she had sent him the Dear John letter, it was suddenly as if she no longer existed. Their friends avoided speaking about her around him because they were never certain how he would take the mention of her name. So the newspaper was his only source of all news Kimberly.

Haley watched as he got upset every day after reading it. So she told him he was no longer allowed to read the paper. Tommy objected and explained why the news in the paper was so vital to him. So they struck a deal, Haley would scan the paper for articles about Kimberly and put them in Tommy's Kimberly Album so long as Tommy did not read the paper while he was a ranger. The deal worked out wonderfully until right now when Tommy wondered if he had missed out on some vital piece of information while saving the world.

"The Florida guy?" Jason stared at him incredulously. "She hasn't dated anyone in Florida for ages. I think the last time she did was back in the nineties."

"Then who is it Jas? Is it someone we know?" Tommy asked. Tommy could feel the dread stirring up inside him. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. What he felt might be the ultimate betrayal to discover that the one engaged to Kimberly was someone in on their inner circle- another ranger. It would make sense if Kim ended up with a ranger. After all, most rangers did. Normal people didn't work out well in a relationship because often issues would arise because the ranger was hiding something. Generally, the only ranger teams that dated outside of the secret group were those rangers that were publicly known like the Lightspeed Rescue or the Space teams. Yet, despite that Tommy knew he would feel betrayed if the man Kim chose was another ranger. After all, Tommy always secretly enjoyed the fact that no matter what man Kim chose, he could never know as much about her as Tommy.

"Actually, yes," Jason replied. "She's marrying Wes."

Tommy stared at him in disbelief. "Wes, as in Time Force Wes?"

Jason sighed. He had a feeling this wasn't going well. "Yes, as in Time Force Wes."

"But he's in love with Jen!" Tommy shouted. This really isn't going well, Jason thought to himself. There wasn't much he could do though except hope that Tommy didn't do anything stupid.

"Jen went back to own time. They broke up ages ago and unlike you, he got over it. Wes realizes that Jen and him can't be together so he chose to be with someone else. It just so happens that someone else is Kimberly." Jason explained.

Tommy shot him daggers. Oh, yeah, Jason thought. This really isn't going well.

"Hey Beautiful," Wes came up to Kim and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Kim returned his gesture with a slight smile. She was making the right choice at least that's what she told herself. Wes was a good guy. He would make her happy.

"How was work?" Kimberly asked. Along with his fellow ex-ranger, Eric, Wes helped run the Silver Guardians that protected the city. After completing the Pan Global games in which she won the silver, Kim went on to college where she had a full scholarship for gymnastics. Upon the completion of her degree- a combination of gymnastics and business, Kim moved to Silver Hills where she opened her own gym. It didn't take long for Eric and Wes to track her down. After all, as the original pink ranger Kim was pretty famous in the community. They even offered her a position amongst the Silver Guardians, but she declined. Kim was done with fighting although she knew that if the world was ever seriously threatened and the power called upon her again, then she would do her part. Given the fact that the Silver Guardians mostly dealt with petty criminals these days, Wes and Eric could understand that. Over time, the three rangers struck up a friendship which later lead to Wes and Kimberly dating.

Despite the fact that she loved Wes, Kimberly often found herself having doubts about their relationship. She knew she would be lying to herself if she didn't accept the fact that the relationship was mostly one of convenience, but Kimberly sucked at relationships. It was a fact that she often reminded herself of whenever she had her doubts. There was one point in her life in which she had it all, but she ruined it.

At seventeen, Kimberly had the love of her life, and she let him go. Tommy had been an amazing boyfriend- caring, loving, kind. Kimberly had fallen in love with him the moment she saw him, and it wasn't long before he returned her feelings. Tommy was what helped Kimberly get through some of the most trying moments of her life. The Pan Globals, college- none of those compared to the hardships of being a ranger. Yet, Tommy made it easier for her. She knew that as long as he was in her corner everything would work out.

But then she left. Initially, Kim and Tommy had attempted to stay in touch. They told each other that their love was worth it. Then it started happening. Kimberly would be talking to Billy and he would mention something about how it seemed that Kat and Tommy had really bonded since Kat joined the team. Rocky would remark on how on some days when Tommy was really down Kat was the only person who could manage to make him smile. Adam would mention how he went to the movies with Tommy and Kat only to have them ignore him by caring on their own special private conversations. Even Tommy's letters and phone calls became full of mentions of Kat.

Kim trusted Tommy. She knew he would never cheat on her. She knew that she loved him, but she also knew that she wasn't there. They were in high school, and it wasn't fair to expect Tommy to be forever committed to her at seventeen. Kim also knew how hard the distance between her and Tommy strained their relationship. It was only natural that Tommy would start developing feelings for Kat, but Tommy would never break up with Kimberly. He would rather suffer the loneliness of separation then risk the possibility of being happy without her. Kim only wanted for Tommy to be happy so she wrote him a letter.

She knew a letter was the worst possible way she could break up with Tommy, but she wanted it to be a clean break. If she called him or worse attempted to do it in person, Kimberly knew that her true feelings would betray. Tommy would see that she still loved him with every inch of her body and he wouldn't be able to let her go. So instead, she hurt him in one of the worst possible ways. She told him that she was the one who found someone else, and she only thought of him as a brother. Despite it being completely out of character, she knew that was the only way Tommy would not pursue the matter. Afterward, she cried herself to sleep every night for a year. There were days that she wondered how she would have made it through if it hadn't been for her gymnastics. The worst one probably being when she found out that Tommy had moved on with Kat.

There were days when she was angry with Tommy. She screamed at him in her head. How could he just accept her letter like that? Didn't he realize that the way he felt about her could never come anywhere near close to what one would feel for a brother? Why didn't he call her after the letter? Why did that letter have to also mean the end of their friendship? There were days in which Kimberly thought that writing the letter was the worst decision she ever made in her life.

While writing the letter, Kim couldn't help but think of that cliche line. "If you love something, let it go. If it was meant to be, it will come back to you." Well, Kimberly had let Tommy go, and he hadn't come back to her. Instead, he pushed on with life and found many replacements for her instead. It never ceased to amaze Kimberly how quick and easy it was for Tommy to move on while Kimberly spent years before she finally dated again. Then there was always some problem or another with the man that she was dating generally each time the greatest problem was that he wasn't Tommy. There were many days after a breaking in which Kimberly resolved that she would call Tommy. She would try and make things right with him, but she never had the guts. After all, what if Tommy didn't want to hear from her? She did try and kill him during her last encounter with him. Granted what Tommy didn't know was during the encounter, it took everything within herself not to declare her never dying love for him. Of course, that was excluding the time she spent being evil. But Kimberly knew declaring her love wasn't an option. Tommy was with Kat by then. Since then any time Kimberly thought about the possibility of calling Tommy, she would chicken out by the fear that maybe Tommy was happy and the last thing he wanted was an ex-girlfriend dragging up unwanted memories. So Kimberly had know idea what Tommy was up to in life. She refused to ask her mutual friends about him in fear that in doing so she would learn that him and Kat were happily married with half a dozen kids. For the longest time, Kimberly wanted to hold onto the hope that maybe Tommy would remember that she was the love of his life and he would come back to her. That day never came.

So, it was a fact that Kimberly had accepted. Kimberly sucked at relationships. When Wes finally asked her out, she had accepted because at that point what had she to lose. It was during their first date that Kimberly realized exactly why her and Wes would actually make a decent couple. It was the fact that neither Kimberly or Wes were the loves of each others life. Wes loved Jen. Kimberly loved Tommy. Neither one of them could be with the one that they loved, so they were good friends and since they couldn't be with their soul mate, they might as well be with their best friend. And that was all their relationship was, two best friends dating. They enjoyed each others company but they weren't in love with each other.

In fact, their relationship wasn't even very physical. They would occasionally kiss each other, but that was the extent of it. Neither one had the desire to take it pass that either. When the two decided to get married, they had even agreed to not worry about the physical part. Kimberly and Wes only even agreed to get married for one reason alone- Alex. In order for Alex to exist in the future, Wes had to have a child. Since Kimberly was his best friend, she was aware of Wes's dilemma. She knew that Wes had no desire to be with anyone but Jen. So she agreed to help him by agreeing to carry his child when the time came. After all with the current technology it was possible for Wes to impregnate her without using traditional methods. And that was why the two decided they would get married.

Kimberly remembered her own issues with her parents being split up and she wanted to give any child of hers a traditional home. Wes could understand and thus, they decided that they would get married before they decided to have the child in question and it was at this point that brought them to the current day.


	2. Chapter 2

"Now I've been gathering possibilities for your bouquet and I have to say, I think pink roses would look divine," the wedding planner told Kim.

Kimberly wanted to sigh. When she first met with the wedding planner, she had told her that under no circumstances did she want the wedding to involve the colors green, red, or pink. If it wasn't for the fact that white was traditional then she probably would have banned that color as well.

"No," Kimberly said. "No pink."

"But then what shall we use for the flowers? You said your fiancee requested roses," the wedding planner whined. Kim knew she was driving the planner crazy. After all, what type of bride bans the colors red and pink during a wedding. To make matters worse Kimberly only allowed for a limited amount of white to be included. The only exception was in areas where tradition called for white. Now to make matters worse for some reason unbeknownst to Kim, Wes had made a comment saying she should carry roses for the ceremony. Kim had no clue why Wes wanted to carry roses but as that was the only request he had made so far, she figured she would comply. After all, Kim hadn't told Wes that she was attempting to plan the wedding without any reminders of their past.

"How about yellow?" Kim asked. Yellow was a safe color in Kim's book. Granted she associated it with Trini and Aisha, but there was no heart ache in those friendships. In fact, she still talked to both girls on a regular basis.

"Yellow?" the wedding planner said in disbelief. "But yellow means friendship!"

"Perfect," Kim replied and luckily at that moment the sounds of Mozart filled the room.

"Excuse me," Kim said as she pulled out her cell phone. The wedding planner just sighed and scribbled on her notes for the ceremony obviously annoyed that Kim had chosen yellow for her flowers.

"Hello," Kim said in to the phone.

"Hey," Wes's voice came into her ear. "Can you come see me?"

"Right now?" Wes was at work at the moment and furthermore, he knew she was at an appointment with the planner.

"Yeah," Wes said. "It's kind of important."

Kim glanced over at her vexed wedding planner. "Yeah, I can come," she said and hung up the phone.

"Sorry," Kimberly muttered to her wedding planner. "That was Wes. Something's come up and I need to go to him right away."

The wedding planner glared. She clearly thought Kim was lying to her.

"But the wedding is only a month away," she argued while attempting to stare Kim down.

Kimberly sighed. It was times like this that she wished she hadn't chosen to hire a wedding planner especially one as demanding as hers, but she had done it as request of Wes's father to whom the wedding planner was an old friend.

"I really have to go. I'm sorry," Kim said and she headed for the door.

Upon arriving at the Silver Guardian's headquarters, Kimberly found a surprise that she had not expected. Standing with Wes waiting for her was not only Eric, but the entire Time Force team. Immediately, she knew that did not bode well for the only reason the Time Force team would come is if Earth's future was in jeopardy.

"What's going on?" Kim asked as she approached them.

Jen stared at her coldly. Wes must have told her they were engaged.

"We have word that Lord Zedd has returned and is setting up on the lunar palace. He means to take," Wes told her.

"That's not possible," Kimberly said. "Lord Zedd was purified when Zordon died. He can't be back."

The stern looks on the other rangers told her otherwise. What they were saying was true. Lord Zedd has returned.

"How?" Kimberly asked.

This time Jen was the one to speak up. "In our own time, we have been dealing with a villain called Constance. He is a descendent of Lord Zedd who takes after his ancestor's worst traits. Recently, Constance has managed to send an evil wave through a time portal and infect Lord Zedd. We are still fighting Constance in our own time, but there isn't much we can do if Lord Zedd manages to take over during this time."

"So," Trip interjected. "We have been sent back to establish a team of rangers."

"Wait," Kimberly said. "You're not here to stop him yourselves."

Jen and the other Time Force rangers glanced at each other.

"It depends," Katie spoke up. "Alex gave us morphers to bring back. Apparently, the morphers will pick the new rangers based from a pool of past rangers. There was some technical reason for it, but we're not really sure why. All we know is that it is similar to how our morphers are genetically linked these morphers will only allow for certain people to use them."

"So how are we going to pick the new rangers?" Kimberly asked them.

"We need to gather up all the ex power rangers. From there we will just have each person attempt to morph with the morpher. If it works, then they're a new ranger. If not then, then they can carry on with their lives as normal citizens or they are welcome to join the cause in other ways," Eric explained.

Tommy, Kimberly suddenly realized in her head. If they were gathering up ex Rangers, it would mean they were also gathering up Tommy. Kimberly didn't know how this sudden news would affect her future with Wes, but she had the feeling that the happily ever after she thought she had been getting was suddenly slipping.

"Alright class, please read chapter three for homework tonight and remember that you need to have the first half of the practice exam completed for Friday," Tommy announced to a sea of groans. Tommy couldn't blame them. Since the defeat of Mesogog a few months back, Tommy had gone back to having only one job- teaching. Tommy enjoyed his students and teaching classes, but every once in a while he wished he was still a ranger. It was always this way after Tommy lost his powers. He took months trying to get back to normal.

The news Jason had given him during the previous weekend's fishing trip didn't help matters. In fact, it just seemed to make the past seem even closer. Kimberly was getting married. His Kimberly was getting married. He had almost flipped a gasket when Jason told him, but he didn't want to let his old friends know that he was still hung up on Kimberly. After all, what kind of guy is still hung up on a girl who broke his heart ten years ago. Let alone a girl who he never even talks to. The last time Tommy had seen Kimberly Hart was when he was a Turbo ranger, and she attempted to kill him.

Tommy sighed as he pulled out lesson plans to work on during his free period. He had always wondered what had happened to his first love and now he knew. He was in the process of telling himself that at least now he could give up on any hopes of being with her when his cellphone vibrated.

Since it was his free period, he answered.

"Hello,"

"Hey Tommy this is Eric. I was the Quantum Ranger, and I now help run the Silver Guardians."

"I know who you are," Tommy replied. Of course, Tommy knew who Eric was. He kept a record of all the rangers in his command center. He also kept a record of all their current doings.

"What's wrong?" Tommy asked for he figured that this probably was not a social call.

"There's an issue," Eric replied. "Lord Zedd is back and we are attempting to assemble a ranger team."

"Zedd can't be back," Tommy responded. Tommy knew better. Lord Zedd could not be back. Zordon's death had purified him.

"We'll explain in due time," Eric promised. "Meanwhile, we need you to come down to Silver Hills for a few days, possibly longer. We have received a set of six morphers from the future, but unfortunately, they won't work for just anyone. The morphers pick the rangers and according to our intelligence they will pick them from the pool of previous rangers."

"So you want to see if I'm compatible," Tommy sighed. He should have known it would be something like this.

"Exactly," Eric replied. "We're holding a gathering of ex-rangers this weekend to test out the morphers. Will you make it?"

"I'll get in touch with the other Dino Rangers and we'll be there," Tommy promised.

"Great," said Eric. "We'll see you then."

Tommy should have known that his retirement was too good to last. After all, given how many times the power had already chosen him in the past, it would not surprise him to be chosen again.

Kimberly had nothing to wear. It was Saturday and despite her enormous wardrobe, Kimberly only had a few garments in pink. After all, she had pretty much given up wearing the color once she and Tommy split. She would have given up the color entirely had there not seemed to been some unwritten Power Ranger's rule stating that if they were to all gather in one spot than they must wear their color. As a result, Kimberly had only three options. A pink turtleneck that was way too warm for the summer weather, a pink t-shirt, and a light pink baby doll dress. Since the turtleneck was too hot and the t-shirt felt a bit too casual Kim opted for the baby doll dress all the while wishing she had the forethought to go shopping before the day.

Downstairs she could hear Jen and Wes laughing. Wes and Kimberly had offered to let the Time Force rangers stay at their home while they were in the past. It made more sense then trying to put them up in a hotel room or making them stay in the Silver Guardian Headquarters. Initially after the meeting, Jen was a bit wary of Kimberly. After all, Jen was in love with Wes, but Kimberly and Wes quickly explained that their marriage was not a romantic one. Jen being from the future time line that they were looking to preserve understood their reasoning and put her jealousy aside. It helped that while Jen was there Kimberly was okay with Wes and her being together. It seemed silly to Kim to not allow them to be together during the rare moments they could. After all, Kimberly would give anything to be able to have those moments with Tommy. So as opposed to feeling jealous over the obvious love between Jen and Wes, Kimberly smiled at Wes's brief fling with happiness. The only jealous Kimberly felt was because she wasn't able to have similar moments with Tommy. Briefly, she had felt sad for her friend because she knew that eventually these few moments he had would come to an end, and everything would return to how it was.

Upon arriving at the Silver Guardians' headquarters, Kimberly could feel a bit of hope stirring inside her own heart. After all, Tommy would be here to. She glanced over to where Jen and Wes were walking in together. If they were granted a few extra moments of happiness who could say what would happen when she met up with Tommy.

It was a three hour drive from Reefside, but somehow everyone had made it alive. It didn't seem practical that they should. There had been many points during the drive in which Tommy came very close to strangling Conner.

It had all started when he told the Dino rangers about how once again they might be called upon to save the world. Since they were all still struggling with adapting to no longer having powers there was a general rush of excitement amongst the ex-Rangers about the possibility of having powers once more. Although they all voted Tommy as the most likely amongst the group to be chosen since he just seemed to have a thing about being a power ranger. Regardless of that fact, all of the teens agreed to go in case maybe they were the one destined to be chosen. Haley also agreed to accompany them because even though she had never been a Ranger herself, her incredible brain might be put to use in other areas.

Since six people wouldn't fit comfortably in Tommy's jeep, they opted to take Haley's car as well. Trent and Kira quickly jumped at the chance to ride with Haley. Thus, Tommy was left with Conner and Ethan. The boys were lucky to have arrived in one piece as the constant bickering between them and the twenty questions about Lord Zedd and the ex-Rangers were enough to drive Tommy up the wall. Eventually, it escalated to a point where the boys were making fun of Tommy's choice of clothes. He was wearing black pants with a white t-shirt over which he had thrown on a red and green plaid shirt. The boys thought this was hilarious and couldn't help but the wardrobe was a sign that Christmas was coming early that year. They also couldn't help but ask Tommy what would he do if he was chosen and received under knew color. Fed up, Tommy turned the volume on the radio up to a point in which it tuned the boys out.

Upon arriving, Tommy immediately started to seek out ex-Rangers that he had served with while the Dino Thunder rangers merely followed him around in awe. He found Jason and his now wife Trini talking to a very pregnant Kat with her boyfriend the first blue ranger Billy. He found Rocky and Aisha flirting. Zack was attempting to hit on the space ranger Ashley not taking the hint that she was already spoken for by Andros. Tanya and Adam were holding hands as they spoke to Justin. There were newer ranger teams there as well. His Dino rangers abandoned him as soon as they spied their ninja ranger friends. He recognized members of the Wild Force team along with those of the Lightspeed. Even the Lost Galaxy rangers were there. It was evident that upon getting the call not a single ranger could refuse.

And amongst all those rangers, there was only one that stood out automatically in his eyes. She had on a light pink baby doll dress with her hair pulled back in loose chignon. He would recognize her anywhere. It was Kimberly-his Kimberly. Immediately, upon seeing her he felt like he always did when she was in his view. He felt his voice become caught in his throat. His palms grew sweaty and his heart began pumping a million miles an hour. It was as if every one of his molecules were suddenly drawn to her. The only thing that held him back was the realization that the guy standing next to her in the red shirt was none other than Wes who according to Jason was her fiancee.

She was standing there talking to Wes and Eric when suddenly she felt it. It's as though the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood at attention. She could feel her eyes being immediately drawn to the other side of the room. Tommy was there. For the first time in years, Kimberly was once again in his presence. His hair was shorter, but she knew that it was him. Looking at him from head to toe, he was still in pretty decent shape although his choice in clothing had dwindled. If she had her way, the plaid shirt he was wearing would never again see the light of day. But it was still Tommy. Her Tommy.

A part of her wanted to go over and say hi. After all, this might be her only chance to speak with him, but just as she was about to work up the courage to walk over to him, Eric called the meeting to attention.

Eric and Jen were quick to explain to the rangers what was happening. There was a collective shock amongst the rangers over the fact that Lord Zedd was back and eviler than ever. When the morphers were produced there was a sense of awe amongst the rangers. Having all worn colors there was a respect towards anything that might grant them the power. These particular morphers were ones that would turn the team into the Elemental Rangers with each member of the team representing a different element- Earth, Air, Wind, Fire, Spirit, and lastly the leader who had the ability to combine all five elements.

Jen, Eric, and Wes had discussed a few days earlier on how they would go about testing the morphers. It was decided they would have the red rangers test them first, then the blues, followed by the yellows, then the pinks, the blacks, and lastly with all unique extra rangers like the whites or the Quantum ranger going last. The order in which they would test each color went in order of the different ranger teams with the newest ranger team going first. After all most rangers were on the younger side so it only seemed logical that they would be the ones chosen.

"So how do we do this?" Conner asked as he was the first red to go.

"Just hold it out in front of you and call Elemental Power Up!" explained Jen.

Conner held it out in front of him. "Elemental Power Up!"

Nothing happened. He went through all six of the morphers and not a single one chose him. Disappointed he sat back down. It was the same story for all the reds until they reached Wes.

"Elemental Power Up!" Wes shouted and with a burst of light he morphed into the white Elemental Ranger.

"Do you know what element you are?" Ethan called out excited. All the rangers in attendance were in awe over the latest installment. The original rangers couldn't help but share a glance in shock over how close the White Ranger element was to that of the original ranger suits.

Jen scanned him with a device Alex had given her before they left.

"According to this, Wes has the ability to command them all. It looks like we have our new leader!"

There was a general applause throughout the room although a few reds looked disappointed that they hadn't been chosen. From there, it went back to the same story as before. They continued down the line of red rangers, but the powers didn't seem to want to pick a red ranger. Eventually, only three reds were left- Tommy, Rocky, and Jason.

As Tommy walked up to the front, he just kept muttering under his breath. "Please not a new color. Please not a new color." Conner and Ethan hearing him muttering as he walked pass their seats couldn't help but cracking up.

Tommy didn't care if he was chosen again. In fact, his happiest moments were those spent as rangers. He only hoped that he wouldn't have to add another color to his wardrobe. All this clothes shopping didn't really fit in with his teacher's salary.

Tommy took the first morpher. On it was a little flame. "Elemental Power Up!"

Nothing happened. Maybe for once he wouldn't be chosen as a ranger. They handed him the second morpher. Again he called out, "Elemental Power Out!"

Once more nothing happened. It was the same story for the second and the third morpher as well. As they handed him the fifth, Tommy was beginning to feel a bit disappointed. It seemed that the power might not chose him this time after all, but he glanced down at the morpher in his hand. This time there was a symbol of a rock on it- Earth. As a paleontologist if he felt close to any element, it had to be the Earth. He could feel his body tingling in anticipation.

"Elemental Power Up!" Tommy cried, but he already had a feeling what was going to happen before he called the words. There was a flash of light and Tommy could feel himself morphing. The next thing he knew he was looking down at his newest uniform which much to his chagrin was yellow. Apparently, some one wanted him to buy more clothes.

Upon seeing their ex-mentor in yet another new color, the Dino Rangers burst into laughter. Tommy even caught Haley working hard not to snicker. All of them knew how much he hoped not to change into another color.

After Tommy went Rocky whose excitement at the possibility of being chosen shined on his face. As a result, everyone felt bad for him when the power didn't chose him. Jason, the last red to try was chosen to once more be a red ranger. Tommy wanted to scream at how unfair it was that Jason didn't need to buy any new clothes. Besides red the only other color Jason had been was gold. Poor Tommy was now on his fifth color.

Once the red rangers were done, they started going through all the blues. Not a single blue was chosen. From the blues, they went on to the yellows. Again neither a single yellow was chosen. The rangers started to worry it would be the same story with the pinks until it to Jen's turn.

Jen picked up the first morpher. The picture on the morpher showed an aged man on a boat. Never having looked at the mophers prior to this, it puzzled Jen. She glanced to the others that remained on the table and there designs were of waves and clouds. Trip saw the look that she Jen was giving it.

"The image is of Charon," he said. "In Greek mythology, Charon was responsible for ferrying the dead across the River Styx. This morpher is for the ranger who will embody the element of spirit."

Jen took the morpher in her hands and felt a tingling in her body just like Tommy. She was drawn to the power from the morpher, but she didn't think anything of it. Jen did not believe that any of the future rangers would be pick. After all, their destinies were waiting for them in their own time.

"Elemental Power Up!" Jen cried halfheartedly. From the moment she held the spirit morpher in her hand, Jen knew she desperately wanted to be the one to possess its power. She just did not think it was possible, so it was much to her surprise when she discovered herself cast in the suit of the pink Elemental ranger.

After Jen the other pinks went with none of them being picked. Eventually, it was Kimberly's turn. She walked forward wondering why she was even wasting her time trying out the morphers. She was after all unlikely to be picked. Female rangers were always either yellow or pink. If Kim had paid more attention to the more recent ranger teams, she would have known that the Ninja team's female ranger had actually been blue.

Kimberly picked up the morpher with the symbol for air first. After all, she figured given her previous zords if she was going to be picked to be an Elemental ranger it would have to be air. She glanced over at where the already chosen elemental rangers stood. Kim wanted this. Prior to that moment she had no idea whether or not she had, but as soon as she glanced at the already chosen Elemental rangers, and they watched her closely as well, Kim knew that she wanted it.

"Elemental Power Up!" Kimberly shouted with every inch of her being. Nothing happened. Kim held on for a second in hopes that would suddenly she'd morph, but she didn't. Her shoulders slumped and tears pushing at the brink of her eyes, Kim headed back to her seat.

"Wait!" Katie called after her. "You still have the other one to try."

Kimberly didn't want to try again, but she knew that she had to. Picking up the water morpher Kimberly felt a feeling of warmth within her. The morpher reminded her of playing in the water on a hot summer day. Still Kimberly merely dismissed it all as wishful thinking. She had been the pterodactyl. She had been the crane. Her element was air not water.

"Elemental Power Up!" Kim cried out and much like Jen, Kimberly was shocked to discover she had become a ranger once more. Like Tommy, Kimberly had changed colors and was now wearing a light blue ranger suit. Happily, she headed over to where the other rangers stood.

There was only one more morpher left. The other rangers all tried in vain, but nothing was happening. Finally, it was Zhane's turn. He was the last of unique rangers to go so everyone at this point assumed it had to be him. When he didn't morph everyone was shocked.

"Is it defective?" Ethan asked.

"Maybe it's supposed to be one of the Alien Rangers?" Billy suggested. The Time Force rangers glanced at each other.

"Alex assured us that the person destined for this morpher would be present here today. There's no reason for it to possibly not work," Trip replied.

"Maybe the person who it is meant for has never been a ranger," Justin suggested. The others in the room looked like he was crazy.

"Everyone in this room has been a ranger," cried out Cole.

"Not Haley," said Tommy. The whole room suddenly looked at where Haley sat with the Dino Rangers.

"It's worth a try," said Katie.

"If it doesn't work, then we'll know that it really is defective," said Lucas.

"She is the only other person here," said Trip.

Haley sighed. She didn't see the point of her trying. The Time Force rangers had already said that it was going to go to a previous ranger. Nevertheless, she figured it wouldn't do any harm to just try even if she knew it was going to be pointless.

When Haley picked up her morpher, it was so quiet in the room that one could hear a pin drop.

"Elemental Power Up!" Haley called out and to the shock of everyone in the room Haley transformed into Black Elemental ranger.

"How is this even possible?" Wes turned to Jen and asked.

"All we knew was that the people destined to be the Elemental Rangers would meet up during an gathering of ex-rangers. We had no idea who would be chosen," Jen explained. As it was Jen was still astonished by the fact that she had been chosen.

Most of the other rangers began filing out since the new team had been chosen. A few went to rooms that held the Silver Guardians's labs in order to offer their assistance in the coming battle. The Elemental Rangers demorphed and took each other in.

"So what are we going to do about our base off operations?" Tommy asked. "After all, not all of us live in Silver Hills and knowing Zedd, he'll go after Angel Grove."

"Tommy's right," Jason added. "Let's face it Silver Hills doesn't make much sense."

Wes took in what Tommy had to say. He knew that Tommy was right though. The only reason Silver Hills made sense was because they already had the lab set up, but as far for where the battle was likely to be, it would be better if they were closer to Angel Grove."

"Tommy still has the facilities that we used to house the Dino Ranger's," Haley threw in. "It may not be in Angel Grove, but at least it's only an hour drive not three."

The rangers stared at each other. Reefside did sound more practical, but it was no where near as close as they would like it.

"I think I might have a solution to your predicament," Billy piped up. Unlike the other ex-rangers, Billy had stayed behind as opposed to leaving or heading to the labs. "As you may know, I have recently returned to Earth to be with my betrothed. Since I had no place to stay, I have been cohabiting with Kat. Her abode, however, is too tiny for my lab to occupy. There forth, I have rebuilding the command center."

"The command center?" Jason asked.

"Yes," replied Billy. Jason, Kimberly, and Tommy all shared a look with each other. Between Zedd, the suits, and now this everything was starting to feel way too much like deja vu.

"We'll have to check it out first," Wes replied. "But if it's functional, then it does seem like the best place to set up command. Jen, why don't you and I go find Eric to discuss this with him?"

Billy followed them so he would be able to share the modifications he had made to the old base.

"You didn't go with your fiancee, I see?" Tommy said to Kimberly. Ten years without speaking and that was the first thing Tommy said to her.

"Well, I'm a big kid. Wes knows I can look after myself," Kimberly replied. What right did Tommy even have to care about the details in her life. For that matter how did he even know that she was engaged? Kimberly certainly hadn't told him, and she doubted Wes had either.

"You're not worried about him being with his ex?" Tommy asked. Kimberly was no idiot. She had to clearly see the same thing that Kimberly had. Wes still loved Jen. It was written all over both their faces.

"He's not worried about me being with mine," Kimberly replied.

"You don't look at yours the same way he looks at her," Tommy stated. His gaze met Kim's each one attempting to stare the other down.

"That's debatable," Haley muttered at Tommy's last comment. With those simple words, Tommy and Kimberly's staring contest came to a halt. Turning away from Tommy, Kimberly moved to face Haley. Initially, Tommy worried that she did it in order to rip Haley's head off about her comment. After all, Kimberly didn't realize that Haley's comment was referencing the way Tommy looked at Kimberly. Since the moment Tommy had laid eyes upon Kimberly today, all he had wanted to do is turn into a neanderthal and whisk her back to his cave.

"Hi," Kimberly said extended her hand out to Haley. "I don't think we've met. My name's Kimberly Hart. Congrats on being picked for the newest ranger team."

Haley took Kimberly's hand. "Thanks, it's going to be different being on the front lines for a change."

"You'll be fine," Tommy said joining in on their conversation. "I'll help teach you more about a fighting."

Kimberly took in the way that Tommy was looking at Haley. She should have realized the moment Tommy had arrived with her. Haley had to be his girlfriend. After all, there was no way someone as handsome as Tommy Oliver was single. Plus, it would explain why as a non-ranger she was there. It would also explain why Haley had already picked up on the way that Kimberly looked at Tommy. Haley didn't seem like the type to miss out on the fact that another girl was scoping her boyfriend out.

Jason quickly took in the way that Kimberly was staring up Haley. Tommy didn't seem to realize the effect that his one comment to Haley seemed to have. Jason wasn't married to Trini for nothing. He had been with his wife long enough to pick up on the subtle clues. It was even easier when the two people involved were his best friends. Kimberly and Tommy both had it bad for each other, but now Tommy had to go and make it look as though he was with Haley. Jason thought about setting the two straight, but it seemed pointless. If Tommy and Kimberly were going to get back together, they were going to have to figure it out on their own otherwise one of them would do something stupid to mess things up again. The only way the two could get back together and last was if they did it of their own accord.

"I'm going to go find Billy," Jason excused himself. Haley cast a glance at Kimberly and Tommy. Haley knew Tommy and Kimberly need to talk to each other. As Tommy's best friend, Haley was privileged to all of Tommy's drunken Kimberly rants. Ever since college it had been the same story. Get one two many beers into Tommy and he would start raving about the one that got away. If this ranger team was to survive, then Tommy needed to sort some matters out with Kimberly.

"I'll accompany you," Haley offered.

"I'll go too," Tommy jumped at the chance.

"Nah," Haley replied. "I think it's better you stay here with Kimberly. I know you haven't seen her in years. You might want to catch up."

Haley cast him a knowing smile as she and Jason walked out of the room. A part of her couldn't help but feel as though this was payback for all the times he had gotten her into a mess.

"I should go find Wes," Kimberly muttered after they left. She couldn't wrap her mind around that Haley girl. What kind of girlfriend leaves her boyfriend alone with their ex? Oh right, she did the same thing with Wes, but her and Wes had an understanding. Kimberly doubted that Tommy and Haley had the same one. Haley probably just hoped that Tommy would be able to use this time to shoot Kimberly down before things escalated not that they would escalate that is.

"Don't go," Tommy said and he found himself reaching out to grab her by the wrist.

Kimberly's eyes darted to where Tommy now held her captive. Kimberly could feel an electric current run through her body in response to his touch.

"Why?" Kimberly asked meeting Tommy's gaze.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

So this is officially the longest chapter I have ever written for any of my fanfics. Yay! So far though, there has been something so inspiring about the Tommy Kimberly relationship. I can only hope that the creative juices keep flowing. I ask that you do bear with me though as I have just recently found myself returning to the Power Rangers universe. The last full season I watched was Time Force. I am, however, attempting to rectify this dilemma by rewatching all the seasons of Power Ranger prior to Morphicon 2012. Also for all of the people who have already reviewed I hope you don't mind that I changed the name. Initially, I couldn't think of what I wanted to call it, so I gave it the title Sliver of Hope. Then I started writing more of it, and I found myself thinking of the song Wo Ai Ni by the Taiwanese group S.H. E. The song is on youtube and there's a whole story that goes along with it. I highly recommend watching it. I can't remember if there's a hard subbed version of it, but a few of the versions have the English translation for it in the video description. Happy Reading!- Angel of Despair


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